Resources

AIOH – Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (Website)

AIOH COVID-19 Resources (Website)

A Guide to Buying P2, or equivalent Respirators for use in the Australian & New Zealand Work environment October 2020 Version 2.0 (PDF)

Breathe Freely Australia (Website)

Breathe Freely Australia – RPE: Facial hair and respirators (PDF)

Breathe Freely Australia – What can an occupational hygienist help with? (Website)

Australia/New Zealand

Standards Australia – AS/NZS 1715:2009 Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment (Website) Available for purchase

Standards Australia – AS/NZS 1716:2012 Respiratory Protective Devices (Website) Available for purchase

Standards Australia – AS/NZS ISO 16975.3:2023 Respiratory Protective Devices – Selection, use and maintenance, Part 3: Fit-testing procedures (Website). Identical adoption of ISO 16975.3:2017. Available for purchase

International

ISO 16975-3:2017 Respiratory protective devices — Selection, use and maintenance — Part 3: Fit-testing procedures (Website) Available for purchase

United States

OSHA 1910.134 Appendix A Part I. OSHA Accepted Fit test Protocols (Website) Free access

ANSI Z88.10.2:2015 Respirator Fit testing methods (Website) Available for purchase

United Kingdom

INDG479 Guidance on respiratory protective equipment (RPE) fit testing (Website) Free download

SafeWork Australia (Website)

SafeWork NSW (Website)

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (Website)

WorkSafe Victoria (Website)

WorkSafe ACT (Website)

SafeWork SA (Website)

NT WorkSafe (Website)

WorkSafe WA (Website)

WorkSafe Tasmania (Website)

Comcare (Website)

United States

OSHA Respiratory Protection (Website)

AIHA Technical Framework: A resource for Respiratory Protection Programs (Website) Free pdf to download

United Kingdom

HSE Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) (Website)

HSE Fit testing basics (Website)

HSE Fit testing to avoid transmission during the coronavirus outbreak (Website)

Fit2Fit RPE Fit Test Providers Scheme (Website)

Fit2Fit Companion – Guidance document Qualitative (QLFT) – Aerosol taste test (ATT) (PDF)

Fit2Fit Companion – Guidance document Quantitative (QNFT) Ambient Aerosol Condensation Nuclei Counting (CNC) (PDF)

Fit2Fit Companion – Guidance document Quantitative (QNFT) Controlled Negative Pressure (CNP) (PDF)

International – International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA)

Indonesia – Indonesian Industrial Hygiene Association (IIHA)

Malaysia – Malaysian industrial Hygiene Association (MIHA)

New Zealand – New Zealand Occupational Hygiene Society (NZOHS)

Taiwan – Taiwan Occupational Hygiene Association (TOHA)

United States – American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)

United States – American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)

United Kingdom –  British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) (Website)

Vietnam – Vietnamese Industrial Hygiene Association (VIHA)

Visit IOHA for full listing of all international occupational hygiene member associations

Galvin K., S. Selvin, and R. C. Spear: Variability in Protection Afforded by Half-Mask Respirators Against Styrene Exposure in the Field. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 51:625-639 (1990) (Abstract)

Zhuang, Z. and W. R. Myers: Field Performance Measurements of Half- Facepiece Respirators-Paint Spraying Operations. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 57:50-57 (1996) (Abstract)

Myers, W. R., Z. Zhuang and T. Nelson: Field Performance Measurements of Half-facepiece Respirators-Foundry Operations. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 57:166-174 (1996) (Abstract)

Myers, W. R. and Z.. Zhaung: Field Performance Measurements of Half- Facepiece Respirators-Steel Mill Operations. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 59:789-795 (1998) (Abstract)

Gaboury, A., D. H. Burd, and R. S. Friar: Workplace Protection Factor Evaluation of Respiratory Protective Equipment in a Primary Aluminum Smelter. Appl. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 8(1): 19-25 (1993) (Website) Reprint Order required

Colton C. E. and J. 0. Bidwell: “A Comparison of the Workplace Performance of Two Different Types of High Efficiency Filters on Half Facepiece Respirators.” Paper presented at the 1995 American Industrial Hygiene Conference, Kansas City, MO, May, 1995

Nelson, T. J. and S. W. Dixon: “Respirator Protection Factors for Asbestos, Parts I and 11.” Paper presented at the 1985 American Industrial Hygiene Conference, Las Vegas, NV, May, 1985

Gosselink, D. W., D. P. Wilmes, and H. E. Mullins: “Workplace Protection Factor Study for Airborne Asbestos.” Paper presented at the 1986 American Industrial Hygiene Conference, Dallas, TX, May, 1986

Colton, C. E., J. 0. Bidwell, and H. E. Mullins: “Workplace Protection Factors of a Half-Facepiece High Efficiency Respirator in Different Environments.” Paper presented at the 1994 American Industrial Hygiene Conference, Anaheim, CA, May, 1994

Dixon, S.W. and T. J. Nelson: Workplace Protection Factors for Negative Pressure Half-Mask Facepiece Respirators. J. Int. Soc. Respir. Prot. 2(4):347-361(1984)

Colton, C. E., A. R. Johnston, H. E. Mullins, C. R. Rhoe and W. Myers: “Respirator Workplace Protection Factor Study on a Half Mask Dust/mist Respirator.” Poster presented at the 1990 American Industrial Hygiene Conference, Orlando, FL, May, 1990

Colton, C. E.: Filtering facepieces: Study supports need for fit-testing. 3M JobHealth Highlights 17(2):1-4 (1999) (PDF)

Reponen T, Lee SA, Grinshpun SA, Johnson E, McKay R. Effect of fit testing on the protection offered by n95 filtering facepiece respirators against fine particles in a laboratory setting. Ann Occup Hyg. 2011 Apr;55(3):264-71. doi: 10.1093/annhyg/meq085. Epub 2010 Dec 20. PMID: 21177265. (Abstract)

Stobbe TJ, daRoza RA, Watkins MA. Facial hair and respirator fit: a review of the literature. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 1988;49(4):199-204. doi:10.1080/15298668891379594 (Abstract)

Skretvedt OT, Loschiavo JG. Effect of facial hair on the face seal of negative-pressure respirators. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 1984;45(1):63-66. doi:10.1080/15298668491399389 (Abstract)

O’Kelly E, Arora A, Pirog S, Ward J, Clarkson PJ (2021) Comparing the fit of N95, KN95, surgical, and cloth face masks and assessing the accuracy of fit checking. PLoS ONE 16(1): e0245688. (Abstract) Free pdf download

Frost et al (2014) Fit of filtering facepiece Class 3 FFP3 Respirators Part 2: The Value of fit-checking and simple subjective assessments of fit as an alternative to a fit test, Journal of the International Society for Respiratory Protection Vol 31, No. 2 (Website) Member access required

Derrick JL, Chan YF, Gomersall CD, Lui SF. Predictive value of the user seal check in determining half-face respirator fit. J Hosp Infect. 2005;59(2):152-155. doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2004.09.009 (Abstract)

Lam, Simon & Lee, Joseph & Yau, S.Y. & Charm, C. (2011). Sensitivity and specificity of the user-seal-check in determining the fit of N95 respirators. The Journal of hospital infection. 77. 252-6. 10.1016/j.jhin.2010.09.034. (Abstract)

Warren R. Myers, Majid Jaraiedi & Lynnette Hendricks (1995) Effectiveness of Fit Check Methods on Half Mask Respirators, Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 10:11, 934-942, DOI: 10.1080/1047322X.1995.10387716 (Abstract)

Danyluk Q, Hon CY, Neudorf M, et al. Health care workers and respiratory protection: is the user seal check a surrogate for respirator fit-testing?. J Occup Environ Hyg. 2011;8(5):267-270. doi:10.1080/15459624.2011.566016 (Abstract)

Viscusi DJ, Bergman MS, Zhuang Z, Shaffer RE. Evaluation of the benefit of the user seal check on N95 filtering facepiece respirator fit. J Occup Environ Hyg. 2012;9(6):408-416. doi:10.1080/15459624.2012.683757 (Abstract)

Lam SC, Lui AK, Lee LY, Lee JK, Wong KF, Lee CN. ‘Evaluation of the user seal check on gross
leakage detection of 3 different designs of N95 filtering facepiece respirators’, American Journal of Infection Control 2016; 44(5):579-86. (Abstract)

HSE RR1028 Review of fit test pass criteria for filtering facepeices class 3 (FFP3) respirators (Website) Free pdf download

Ziqing Zhuang, Michael Bergman, Elizabeth Brochu, Andrew Palmiero, George Niezgoda, Xinjian He, Raymond Roberge & Ronald Shaffer (2016) Temporal changes in filtering-facepiece respirator fit, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 13:4, 265-274, DOI: 10.1080/15459624.2015.1116692 (Abstract)

Ziqing Zhuang, Stacey Benson, Stephanie Lynch, Andy Palmiero & Raymond Roberge (2011) Laboratory Study to Assess Causative Factors Affecting Temporal Changes in Filtering Facepiece Respirator Fit: Part I – Pilot Study, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 8:12, 729-739, DOI: 10.1080/15459624.2011.627294 (Abstract)

Raymond J. Roberge, Jung-Hyun Kim, Andrew Palmiero & Jeffrey B. Powell (2015) Effect of Pregnancy Upon Facial Anthropometrics and Respirator Fit Testing, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 12:11, 761-766, DOI: 10.1080/15459624.2015.1049269 (Abstract)

Wilkinson, I., Pisaniello, D., Ahmad, J., & Edwards, S. (2010). Evaluation of a Large-Scale Quantitative Respirator-Fit Testing Program for Healthcare Workers: Survey Results. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 31(9), 918-925. doi:10.1086/655460 (Abstract)

MacIntyre et al. (2011) A cluster randomized clinical trial comparing fit‐tested and non‐fit‐tested N95 respirators to medical masks to prevent respiratory virus infection in health care workers. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses DOI: 10.1111/j.1750‐2659.2010.00198.x (Abstract)

Cameron Shanel, Cheung Winston, Cronin Nigel, Griffiths Karina, Hunt Rhiannon, Innes Lesley, Kol Mark, Lawrence Amy, Shah Asim, Skylas Katina, Wagh Atul, (2020) Quantitative fit testing with limited supplies of respirator masks in hospital personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Australian Health Review 44, 542-543. doi.org/10.1071/AH20154 (Abstract)

McMahon E, Wada K, Dufresne A. ‘Implementing fit testing for N95 filtering facepiece respirators: Practical information from a large cohort of hospital workers’, American Journal of Infection Control 2008; 36(4):298-300. (Abstract)

Winter S, Thomas JH, Stephens DP, Davis JS. ‘Particulate face masks for protection against airborne pathogens – one size does not fit all: an observational study’, Critical Care and Resuscitation 2010;12(1):24-7. (Abstract)

MacIntyre CR, Wang Q, Seale H, Yang P, Shi W, Gao Z, Rahman B, Zhang Y, Wang X, Newall AT, Heywood A, Dwyer DE. A randomized clinical trial of three options for N95 respirators and medical masks in health workers. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2013 May 1;187(9):960-6. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201207-1164OC. PMID: 23413265. (Abstract)

MacIntyre CR, Wang Q, Rahman B, Seale H, Ridda I, Gao Z, Yang P, Shi W, Pang X, Zhang Y, Moa A, Dwyer DE. Efficacy of face masks and respirators in preventing upper respiratory tract bacterial colonization and co-infection in hospital healthcare workers. Prev Med. 2014 May;62:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.01.015. Epub 2014 Jan 25. Erratum in: Prev Med. 2014 Dec;69:165. PMID: 24472436; PMCID: PMC7172205. (Abstract)

MacIntyre CR, Chughtai AA. A rapid systematic review of the efficacy of face masks and respirators against coronaviruses and other respiratory transmissible viruses for the community, healthcare workers and sick patients. Int J Nurs Stud. 2020;108:103629. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103629 (Abstract)

Regli A, von Ungern-Sternberg. Fit-testing of N95/P2-masks to protect health care workers. Med J Aust 2020 (Abstract)

Regli, Adrian & Sommerfield, Aine & Von Ungern-Sternberg, Britta. (2020). The role of fit testing N95/FFP2/FFP3 masks: a narrative review. Anaesthesia. 10.1111/anae.15261.(Abstract)

United States

CDC NIOSH Healthcare Respiratory Protection Resources (Website)

CDC NIOSH Hospital Protection Program Toolkit (PDF)

The Joint Commission. Implementing Hospital Respiratory Protection Programs: Strategies from the Field. Oakbrook Terrace, IL: The Joint Commission, Dec 2014. (PDF)

Oberg T, Brosseau LM. Surgical mask filter and fit performance. Am J Infect Control. 2008;36(4):276-282. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2007.07.008 (Abstract)

Bałazy A, Toivola M, Adhikari A, Sivasubramani SK, Reponen T, Grinshpun SA. Do N95 respirators provide 95% protection level against airborne viruses, and how adequate are surgical masks?. Am J Infect Control. 2006;34(2):51-57. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2005.08.018 (Abstract)

MacIntyre CR, Wang Q, Seale H, et al. A randomized clinical trial of three options for N95 respirators and medical masks in health workers. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2013;187(9):960-966. doi:10.1164/rccm.201207-1164OC (Abstract)

MacIntyre CR, Ananda-Rajah M, Nicholls M, Quigley AL. Current guidelines for respiratory protection of Australian health care workers against COVID-19 are not adequate and national reporting of health worker infections is required. Med J Aust 2020; [PrePrint 14 July 2020]

J D M Douglas, N McLean, C Horsley, G Higgins, C M Douglas, E Robertson, COVID-19: smoke testing of surgical mask and respirators, Occupational Medicine, , kqaa167, https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqaa167 (Abstract)

HSE RR619 Evaluating the protection afforded by surgical masks against influenza bioaerosols Gross protection of surgical masks compared to filtering facepiece respirators 2008 (Wesbite) Free PDF download

Australia

Standards Australia – AS/NZS 1715:2009 Selection, use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment Section 6 (Website) Available for purchase

Australia and New Zealand Society of Occupational Medicine ANZSOM (Website)

United States

OSHA 1910.134 Appendix C Respirator Medical Evaluation Questionnaire (Website)

CDC NIOSH Medical evaluation FAQs (Website)

Guide to the medical evaluation for respirator use (Website) Available for purchase

Desai, U., Johnson, G.T., McCluskey, J.D. and Harbison, R.D. (2017) Evaluation of Spirometry for Medical Clearance in Occupations Requiring Respirator Usage. Occupational Diseases and Environmental Medicine , 5, 67-77. (Abstract)

Desai, Ushang Prakshbhai, “Use of Spirometry for Medical Clearance and Surveillance in Occupations Requiring Respirator Use” (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. (Website) Free PDF download

Sheri Belafsky, Justin Vlach & Stephen A. McCurdy (2013) Cardiopulmonary Fitness and Respirator Clearance: An Update, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 10:5, 277-285, DOI: 10.1080/15459624.2013.774631 (Abstract)

Syamlal G, Doney B, Bang KM, et al. Medical fitness evaluation for respirator users: results of a national survey of private sector employers. J Occup Environ Med. 2007;49(6):691-699. doi:10.1097/JOM.0b013e318076b7d (Abstract)

Mary Kay White, Max Vercruyssen & Thomas K. Hodous (1989) Work tolerance and subjective responses to wearing protective clothing and respirators during physical work, Ergonomics, 32:9, 1111-1123, DOI: 10.1080/00140138908966878 (Abstract)

Hua W, Zuo Y, Wan R, et al. Short-term skin reactions following use of N95 respirators and medical masks. Contact Dermatitis. 2020;83(2):115-121. doi:10.1111/cod.13601 (Abstract)

Desautels, Nicole & Singh, Joginder & Burrell, Joy & Rosenman, Kenneth. (2016). What Should Be the Content and Frequency of Performing a Medical Evaluation to Determine Fitness to Wear a Respirator?. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 58. 1. 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000815. (Abstract)

Szeinuk J, Beckett W, Clark N, Hailoo W. Medical evaluation for respirator use. Am J Ind Med 2000; 37:142–157. (Abstract)

Bansal S, Harber P, Yun D, et al. Respirator physiological effects under simulated work conditions. J Occup Environ Hyg. 2009;6(4):221-227. doi:10.1080/15459620902729218 (Abstract)